Ottawa announces $2 billion for move to low-carbon economy

June 15, 2017 - Ottawa is giving Canadians and Canadian companies a $2-billion incentive to reduce their emissions and make their homes and buildings more efficient.

Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, introduced the new fund today as part of the pan-Canadian climate change framework announced last fall.

"We understand that a clean environment and a strong economy go hand in hand. The Low Carbon Economy Fund will deliver clean, sustained economic growth for years to come. It is seeking the best and most innovative ideas to reduce our emissions for the good of current and future generations. These projects will also reduce energy bills and create good, middle class jobs for Canadians," McKenna said in a news release.

The fund will also go towards supporting the forest and agriculture sectors to enhance stored carbon in forests and soils.

Provinces and territories that adopted and made climate change commitments in the framework are receiving $1.4 billion of the $2 billion fund. Those projects will begin in the fall and summer.

The rest of the fund will be used for a Low Carbon Economy Challenge that will be formally launched this fall. Projects for the challenge can be submitted by provinces and territories, municipalities, Indigenous governments and organizations, businesses and both not-for-profit and for-profit organizations. Projects that support a switch to lower carbon fuels and programs for enhanced forest management were given as examples.

"Canada has great expertise and a proven history of innovation in our natural resource and energy sectors. This investment will help to build on this capacity, to create and capture new opportunities in the low-carbon economy across a broad range of industry sectors," Jim Carr, Minister of Natural Resources, said in the release.

Canada's target is to reduce emissions to 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.